The Secret of Ella and Micha (The Secret 1)

"Whose car is that?" Lila scoots forward in her seat. "It's gorgeous."

"Why is he here?" I grimace, scowling at the shiny red Porsche with Ohio license plates.

"Now be nice," Micha warns, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "He's your brother."

"But it doesn't make him less of an ass**le," I mutter. "And he swore when he left, he was never coming back here ever again."

"That's your brother's car?" Lila asks. "Good God, what does he do for living?"

I press the tips of my fingers to the sides of my nose. "Who knows?"

"Well, how does he afford a car like that?" she requests interestedly.

"It's not his car," I say. "It's my mothers."

Micha and I swap an oblique look, recalling the day the car mysteriously showed up in the garage. She never would tell anyone how she got it, and for a while, Dean and I expected the police to show up and arrest her for car thievery. It never happened and as time went on, it became like a game to my mother. Not just with the car, but with life. We never knew if she was telling the truth or not.

After she died, Dean took the car. He acted like it was his right and maybe it was. He wasn't the one who'd snuck out of the house that night and left our mother alone.

"And that gorgeous car over there is yours," I remind Lila, diverting her attention elsewhere. "You should probably go get it fixed, before Ethan wanders off from the shop."

She slumps back in the chair. "I'd really like to meet your brother first before I go."

"I'm sure he'll still be here when you get back." Actually I'm hoping he'll be gone.

"Come on, Lila, we'll make it quick." Micha opens the door. "We can drop it off and walk back. It isn't too far."

When I climb outside, he captures my gaze over the roof of the car. "Are you coming with us?"

"I think I need to stay." My eyes travel to the back door. "Who knows why he's here and what he'll say to dad? And I don't think dad can handle his crap."

Pressing his hands to the roof, he leans over. "But can you handle his crap?"

"I'll be fine," I assure him. "Just get her car fixed. She needs to get out before she gets sucked into this place."

"This town isn't that bad." Micha closes the door. "You used to think the same thing."

"I also used to believe my mom would get better," I say. "And look what a crashing disappointment that was."

From the back of the car, Lila blinks at me, stunned. "Ella, I didn't know your mom was sick."

Micha's expression is guarded. "Let's go, Lila. Ella's right, if Ethan gets too bored, he'll bail."

They head for Lila's car and I head up the driveway, wishing I could run back into Micha's arms and alleviate the hole in my chest.

Micha

I worry about Ella the entire drive to the shop. Dean was never a good brother and at the funeral, he blamed Ella for their mother's death. He basically tore her to shreds. Maybe it was his way of mourning, but it was still a shitty thing to do.

"So what's up with Ella and her brother?" Lila asks, resting her arm on the console.

"I think that's something you should probably talk to her about." I turn the car into the parking lot of the shop. "It's not really my story to tell."

Lila unclips her seatbelt. "But Ella's never really told me much about her life. She has always been so quiet about it and I just thought it was her personality, but the way everyone talks about her around here, I don't think it is."

"She used to be pretty loud spoken." I reach for the door, but hesitate, needing to get it off my chest. "The Ella I knew was not the prim and proper girl you've been hanging out with. She had this fire in her and she didn't put up with anyone's crap. It got her into trouble a lot, but she was also the kind of person who would take the fall, even if it wasn't her fault."

"I think I saw that part of her when we stopped at a bathroom when we first got to town," Lila muses. "There was this guy there who was giving me crap and Ella nearly beat him up."

I try not to smile. "She did, did she?"

"Is that how she was when you knew her? Like a total badass?" Lila grins and I realize she's not as bad as I originally thought.

"Yeah, she was always kind of a badass." I shove the door open and my boots scuff the gravel as I climb out.

There are a few cars parked in front of the metal building and both the garage doors are open. A truck is parked inside and the owner of the shop - Ethan's dad - is working under the hood.

"So what do you do?" Lila asks as we head to the entrance.

"A little of this," I joke. "And a little of that."

"So it's a secret." She picks up on my vibe.

I swing the chain attached to my jeans. "For now, it kind of is."

"Gotcha." She doesn't press and I like her even more.

Ethan is waiting for us in the lobby, slouched back in a chair with his shoes kicked up on the counter and his head slanted back. "It's about damn time. I was about ready to leave."

Lila starts to giggle as she takes out her phone from her purse. "You guys weren't lying."

Ethan lowers his feet to the floor and stands up. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." I shrug him off, resting my arms on the counter. "Ella and I just told her that if we didn't hurry up you'd get bored and leave."

"So you were talking about me behind my back." He walks around the counter by Lila. "You got the keys or did you leave them in?" I toss him the keys and he catches them. "Where's Ella?"

"Her brother showed up," I explain. "She's back at her house."

Ethan's eyebrows shoot upward. "And you left her there alone with him?"

"Only to drop this off," I say. "Lila and I are going to walk back."

Lila glances back and forth between Ethan and me. "Is something wrong with Ella's brother?"

"She'll be fine." I lean against the glass door with my arms folded and check my watch. "But we should get back."

"I think I should stay here," Lila says, frowning at her phone.

"Are you sure?" I ask. "Ethan will take good care of it."

She looks upset as she tosses the phone into her purse. "Yeah, I need to make sure everything's taken care of properly."

"Alright, can you find your way back to the house?" I nudge the door open.

"I'll make sure she gets there," Ethan offers with a shrug.